Savannah Guthrie Is Nearly Unrecognizable With Her Natural Hair Color

We know "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie best with highlighted, bronde locks that usually fall somewhere around her shoulders. But what if we told you her natural hair color is so dark it could pass for black? The star proudly showed off her natural hair color while working at local Tucson news station KVOA between 1995 and 1999, when she sported a brunette, cropped cut with wispy bangs that was a world away from her lighter, signature 'do.

Guthrie shocked her "Today" co-star Al Roker (and viewers) years later when she confirmed that was the shade she was born with. The topic came up after a fan attended the NBC morning show in September 2025 with a photo of Guthrie during her KVOA days on a poster, to which Guthrie quipped (via People), "...I think we don't need to see that." The morning TV star admitted she was inspired by Jennifer Aniston's notorious "Friends" Rachel cut — one of the trendiest '90s haircuts ever — but she didn't seem keen to reminisce about the hue. "That's crazy how you used to dye your hair black!" Roker told his co-host. But Guthrie sheepishly admitted, "No, that's my natural hair color. Let's change the subject." Despite the journalist looking nearly unrecognizable with her real hair color, we think she looked stunning.

We can't imagine super dark, short hair being a style she'll ever return to, though. Guthrie had an interesting way of describing her early hairdo during her commencement speech at Georgetown Law School in 2023. "I worked in local television news, rising from market to bigger market with my reporter's notebook, and helmet hair, and red blazer," she said.

That wasn't the first time Savannah Guthrie's locks have been a topic of discussion, though. In 2020, one viewer tweeted the anchor, "Cmon. With what they pay you, can't you afford a hair stylist? I love the natural unkempt look but its distracting on @NBCNews national news." They appeared to be referencing Guthrie's hairstyle over her color, as her locks were much lighter than her natural shade. But she wasn't about to take the criticism lying down. And nor should she. "We are all doing our own hair and makeup during the pandemic. And yes it shows!" Guthrie clapped back. Other X users chimed in to defend the TV personality, including one who wrote, "I love how much more natural Savannah looks. Feels more authentic to the times for sure. I actually would love to see the overly made-up look not actually come back in full force. Call me crazy. Do men have to get so 'dolled up'? No — they do not." And they weren't wrong.

The criticism came a couple of months after Guthrie confirmed she'd been dying her hair at home amid COVID-19 restrictions. The star shared an Instagram photo of herself with a towel around her shoulders, her tresses clipped up, and several products on the table that appeared to be different types of hair dye. "Let's do this. Coloring hair at home is easy with [my son] Charley on my arm and [celebrity hair colorist] Rita Hazan giving expert advice on FaceTime!!!" she wrote.